Sitting Worse Than Cigarettes? Budget Don’T Quit New Year’S Goals, Try Sent for Tweaking Them

Support Baylor sports: Attend more games Baylor football draws enormous crowds, so why can’t students do the same for all sports? see OPINION, page 2 baylorlariat com The Baylor Lariat WE’RE THERE WHEN YOU CAN’T BE On ARTS, page 5: Read how stars collide in new flick “A Most Violent Year.” Tuesday | February 3, 2015 Obama’s Sitting worse than cigarettes? budget Don’t quit New Year’s goals, try sent for tweaking them. By Amanda Hayes Hill’s OK Reporter By Andrew Taylor Associated Press Instead of giving up on failed New Year’s resolutions, Meg Patterson, di- WASHINGTON — Promising to rector of wellness, suggests student help America’s middle class, Presi- try tweaking their original goals. dent Barack Obama on Monday sent Many students began 2015 with Congress a record $4 trillion budget a “new year, new me” mentality, only that would hammer corporate prof- to find a month into the year nothing its overseas and raise taxes on the has changed. Now that the semester wealthy while boosting tax credits for is picking up, it can be easy to get dis-even-handed, and if there was any families and the working poor. couraged and abandon resolutionspretrial publicity that intends a dif- Obama’s budget also would steer altogether. ferent spin on anything, then we hundreds of billions of dollars to the One hour of sitting can shed 22should all be upset, regardless of nation’s crumbling infrastructure of minutes from a person’s life. One cig-where it comes from,” Place said. roads and bridges, help provide two arette takes an average of 10 minutes, Last week, Kyle’s widow, Taya years of free community college and according to a TIME study. These sta-Kyle, spoke to legislators at a reverse the across-the-board, auto- tistics have fueled the latest trend inprivate screening of “American matic budget cuts that have slammed health research, known as “Sitting isSniper” at the Texas Capitol. She the Pentagon and nearly every gov- the New Smoking.” praised peer counseling such as ernment department. As a result, Patterson said stu-the Military Veteran Peer Network, In the face of certain opposition dents should reduce the amount ofone of several assistance programs from Republicans, an optimistic time they spend sitting. that the Texas Veterans Commis- Obama hailed a “breakthrough year “It is ideal to work out at leastsion hopes will receive more state for America” of new jobs, lower un- three times a week, for 30 minutesfunding this year. employment and shrinking deficits to an hour each time,” Patterson said. Although Chris Kyle wasn’t after the great recession of 2008, and “But if you can’t carve out an hour inworking with the network, “he is he called for moving past years of your schedule, just try to sit less.” sort of a model of that network,” “mindless austerity.” The blueprint said Kyle Mitchell, deputy execu- PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS BY SKYE DUNCAN | LARIAT PHOTO EDITOR SEE page 4 for the 2016 budget year that begins GOALS, tive director of the commission. Oct. 1 represents a 6.4 percent in- “He was outreaching in the field on crease over estimated spending this his own.” year, projecting that the deficit will Taya Kyle did not attend Mon- decline to $474 billion. day’s event. However, Obama’s plan ignores Organists gather for from Page 1 the new balance of power in Wash- GOALS ington, with Republicans running both the House and Senate. The yearly conference GOP found plenty to criticize in his proposed tax hikes that would total about $1.5 trillion. By Rachel Leland from Baylor and other univer- Staff Writer Republicans cited the nation’s $18 sities and states. trillion debt and assailed what they The conference began Sun- Several nationally recognized call Obama’s tax-and-spend policies day afternoon when Korean organists came to participate in for failing to address the spiraling graduate student Chohee Kim the 21st annual Midwinter Organ growth of benefit programs such as performed a recital at Jones Conference, which began Sunday. Social Security and Medicare. Concert Hall. Jason Roberts, associate direc- “Today President Obama laid out “I was a little bit nervous tor of music and organist at St. a plan for more taxes, more spending, because it’s not my kind of Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church and more of the Washington gridlock stuff,” Kim said. “There are in New York City, will give a per- that has failed middle class families,” professional organists but I formance to accompany Buster said House Speaker John Boehner, think it’s a good experience Keaton’s silent film “Steamboat R-Ohio. “This plan never balances — because there is more pressure Bill, Jr.” in Jones Concert Hall. than other performances at KEVIN FREEMAN | LARIAT PHOTOGRAPHER e v e r.” Daryl Robinson, recipient of multiple awards for his organ playing, performs in Powell Chapel in Truett Seminary Scott Dettra, director of music church or school.” Republicans aren’t offering specif- on Monday. The annual Midwinter Organ Conference began Sunday and continues through this week. and organist at the Church of the ics yet but will respond this spring Assistant professor of or- Incarnation in Dallas, will host with their own plan, a balanced-bud- gan in the school of music, Dr. Demers has organized the when we welcome the first guests first conference was held 20 years the conference’s closing recital. get outline promising to get rid of Isabelle Demers, gave a perfor- conference for the three years on campus, and help them dis- ago. The last meeting will also be in “Obamacare,” ease the burdens of the mance Monday morning in Roxy since coming to Baylor. cover our beautiful instruments “Students, organists, or sim- Jones Concert Hall. national debt on future generations, Grove. She included composers “The planning is always some- and facilities.” ply organ aficionados – I believe Titled “The American Organ- curb the explosive growth of expen- such as Johann Sebastian Bach what stressful because we need to Demers said she enjoys meet- we all enjoy the concerts tremen- ist,” the conference is housed in sive benefit programs and reform a and Sergei Rachmaninoff in his take care of so many details, from ing and performing for guests. dously,” Demers said. “What’s not various concert and recital halls arrangement. Demers is a Juil- organ maintenance to catering,” Some audience members Monday on campus and features organists liard graduate. SEE OBAMA, page 4 Demers said. “I’m always happy evening have attended since the SEE ORGAN, page 4 Abbott: US needs heroes like Kyle By Eva Ruth Moravec ed to be the deadliest sniper in day in Stephenville, about 150 Associated Press American history — “the face of miles north of Austin, in the trial a legion of warriors who have led of Routh, 27, who is charged with AUSTIN — Two years after the mightiest military in the his- one count of capital murder and Chris Kyle’s death, and days be- tory of the world.” two counts of murder. fore the man accused of killing Four years after he retired Some 800 people have been him goes to trial, the retired Navy from service, he and neighbor summoned for jury duty, said SEAL depicted in the blockbuster Chad Littlefield were shot and court spokeswoman Wanda Prin- movie “American Sniper” re- killed at a North Texas gun range. gle, compared with the typical ceived a state day Monday in his Accused in their deaths is former jury pool of 175 in Erath County. honor. Marine Eddie Ray Routh, whom Once seated, the jury will be un- Gov. Greg Abbott signed a the two men were trying to help. der orders not to discuss the case. proclamation declaring Feb. 2 Routh has been described by fam- Routh’s attorney, J. Warren “Chris Kyle Day” in Texas, where ily as a troubled veteran who was St. John, has said that Routh will Kyle was raised and lived after hospitalized for mental illnesses, plead not guilty by reason of in- serving in Iraq. Flags statewide including post-traumatic stress sanity. If convicted, he could face flew at half-staff Monday. disorder. the death penalty. “As governor, I am proclaim- An Abbott spokeswoman said Finding jurors who haven’t ing this to be Chris Kyle Day, but the success of the movie based heard about Chris Kyle could in doing so, as Chris would have on Kyle’s autobiography and the prove to be difficult, said Allen HANNAH HASELOFF | LARIAT PHOTOGRAPHER it, we are also recognizing every upcoming trial were not driv- Place Jr., a criminal defense attor- man and woman who has ever ing forces behind Monday’s an- ney and spokesman for the Texas Give a drip; save a life worn the uniform of the United nouncement. An effort is under- Criminal Defense Lawyers Asso- League City freshman Mackenzie Hayworth gives blood at the Baylor MAPS sponsered blood drive on Mon- States Military,” Abbott said, way to make Chris Kyle Day an ciation. day afternoon. flanked by a dozen bipartisan annual event. “We want everything to be lawmakers. Jury selection begins Thurs- Abbott called Kyle — reput- SEE KYLE, page 4 Vol.117 No. 8 First copy free. Additional copies 25 cents each. © 2015 Baylor University Opinion Tuesday|February 3, 2015 2 The Baylor Lariat Be a good sport: Cheer on all Baylor athletics renaissance. The Bears sold out the first Editorial year’s worth of games at McLane Stadium, averaging more than 46,000 fans per game. Baylor athletics is in the midst of the Students waited with baited breath to see best multi-year stretch in program his- whether they would receive a ticket each tory.

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